Automatic liquid dispensing nozzles



Feb. 24, 1959 w. D. BOONE AUTOMATIC LIQUID DISPENSING NQZZLES Filed June 26, 1956 aim IN VEN TOR. WALLACE D. BOONE BY DES JARDINS,ROBINSON & KEISER HIS ATTORNEYS United States Patent AUTOMATIC LIQUID DISPENSING NOZZLES Wallace D. Boone, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor to O PW Corporation, Cincinnati, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application June 26, 1956, Serial No. 593,908

6 Claims. (Cl. 141208) This invention relates to automatic dispensing nozzles, especially those for dispensing gasoline, and it pertains particularly to the provision of a gravity operated valve in the air breather conduit line for being automatically gravitated on and off its valve seat by tilting the nozzle to and from dispensing position. 7

These automatic dispensing nozzles are provided with an air line open to the atmosphere at the discharge end of the nozzle and connected with valve operating mechanism in the nozzle construction. The spout of the nozzle is inserted in the tank to be filled, and when the tank is filled the liquid therein shuts oil? the air line causing a vacuum to be created in the vacuum chamber, thereby actuating the automatic release mechanism and allowing the valve to close.

These automatic dispensing nozzles are preferably also provided with means for being temporarily engaged with the valve operating lever to'hold said lever in open position until the valve automatically closes as described above. Said temporarily engaging means is normally biased out of engagement with the lever and will remain so until manuallyreengaged with said lever. By reason of the temporarily lever engaging means the dispensing nozzle needs no attention from the attendant after the spout of the 'nozzle' has been inserted in the tank to be filled, the valve opened and the lever temporarily engaged to be held in open position. Should the nozzle then fall out of the fill pipe, the shock of hitting the ground would release the lever engaging means and permit the valve spring to snap the valve shut. One limitation of these automatic nozzles is that should the nozzle spout be disengaged from the fill pipe, there would be some spilling of the liquid until the nozzle hit the ground to be bumped for releasing the lever engaging means and closing the.

valve. Accordingly, means have been provided on the nozzle to cause the valve to be closed immediately when so withdrawn. Such means, however, have not only been of involved and complicated construction, but have been mounted on the exterior of the nozzle spout. Valves have also been provided in the air breather air line, manually adjustable thereto, for sensitivity and to regulate the air fiow or to float on the seat and to shut the valve off when the tank is full.

Accordingly, one of the main objects of the present invention is the provision of a gravity valve associated with the air breather line which is gravitated on and off the valve seat by simply tilting the nozzle from one position to another.

Another object of the invention is an automatic dispensing valve in which the air breather conduit line will be closed by the nozzle being withdrawn from the tank to be filled.

Another object of the invention is a simple and efficient means for closing the air breather of the air line.

Further objects, and objects relating to details of construction and economies of operation, will readily appear 7 from the detailed description to follow. In one instance,

the objects of the invention have been accomplished by 2,874,735 I Patented Feb. 24, 1959 2 the device and means set forth in the following specification. The invention is clearly defined and pointed out in the appended claims. A structure constituting a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of an auto matic dispensing nozzle embodying the invention, the nozzle being in dispensing position with the gravity valve in the air line open.

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 with the nozzle lifted p out of dispensing position with the gravity valve in the air line closed.

Figs. 3 and 4 are modified forms of gravity valves. This automatic nozzle is of the general construction described in Patents 2,528,747 and 2,582,195 equipped with any suitable means, such as shown in Patents 2,528,- 747 and 2,837,240 for being temporarily engaged by the valve operating lever. These patents are referred to and incorporated in full as part of the disclosure here for I showing the general construction of the dispensing nozzle,

and means for temporarily engaging the valve operating lever to hold it open, said means being normally biased out of engagement with the lever.

Referring specifically to the drawings in which like numerals designate like parts, numeral 1 designates the main body of an automatic nozzle in which is housed a valve 2 manually lifted from its seat 3 by stem 4 which is elevated by hand lever 5 within the hand guard 6, said hand guard being preferably provided with a pin 611 I normally'spring biased out of frictional contact with the level- 5. There is an automatic control, generally referred to by numeral 7, which is the pivot point of lever 5 when the free end of said lever is lifted to unseat valve 2, the end of the lever being connected to the control 7. The top end of the control 7 is connected to a diaphragm 8 which has a vacuum chamber 9 on one side in which a vacuum is created, by the flow of the dispensed liquid through the nozzle, and an air chamber 10 on the opposite side. There is an inlet 11 to which the end of a hose from a supply tank is connected and an outlet 12 to which spout 13 is connected. Within the spout is mounted an air line 1.4 leading to vacuum chamber 9. Said vacuum chamber 9 is also connected to the interior of the main body of the nozzle, preferably adjacent to the valve stem 4, by the passage 14. The spout is screwed into the outlet 12 and secured by clamp collar 15 by means of screw threads 16. The foregoing is a general description of a conventional automatic dispensing nozzle of the type specifically described in Patent No. 2,582,195 above referred to. The terminal end of the air line-14 is inserted in one side of a hollow fitting 17, in the form of an elbow, to register with opening 18 and be seated in socket 19 to be secured by brazing 20. A neck 21 of the fitting projects through an opening in the wall of the spout and has its end 22 swaged to secure the fitting to the spout. The end of the air line 14 in the fitting will provide a seat for a ball valve 23 mounted in the chamber 24 of the fitting between side opening 18 and another side opening 25 through the neck 21. This chamber 24 is sufficiently elongated for the ball valve 23 to be moved in one direction, away from the valve seat at the end of air line 14 and well past the side opening 25 so as not to obstruct the air flow through line 14 when the valve is unseated from the end of the air line and seated against the closed end of the fitting.

The dispensing nozzle is in normal dispensing position in Fig. 1 with the ball valve 23 gravitated out of position. When the nozzle spout is withdrawn from the tank to be filled by accidentally falling out, it will be tilted upwardly to a horizontal or above position as shown in Fig. 2, thereby causing said valve 23 to be gravitated to seating position on the end of the air line 14 and cutting off the air supply for causing the nozzle valve 3 to close.

This dispensing valve is preferably provided with one or more pins 6a as shown in above referred to Patent 2,837,240 which are normally spring biased out of engagement with the end of the lever but are manually moved in the path of the lever to be frictionally engaged thereby when the lever is raised to a valve opening position. The frictional engagement of the pin with the lever is overcome by the bias spring -'to disengage the lever when the nozzle valve is snapped closed. Any slight jar to the nozzle will also free the pin from the lever. This gravity valve will also cause the valve to be snapped shut and'the lever released when the air supply to the air line 14 is shut 01?.

In Fig. 3 the gravity valve is typified by a pivoted flap 26 disposed to swing away from seated position against the end of air line 14 when the nozzle is in dispensing position shown in Fig. 1 and will swing to seat therea'gainst whenthe nozzle is elevated t'o'theposition shown in "Fig. 2.

In Fig. 4 "the gravity valve is in the form of a poppet 27 cooperating-with avalve seat '28 on the web 29 formed on the fitting 17a The stem 30 of the poppet projects througha recess 31'in the web.

The invention is not limited to any particular type of construction of gravity valve for opening-and closing the airline, but can boot any type which is'most easilygravitated on and ofi the valve seat toopen and close the air line. It will also be appreciated that the suction of air drawn in through the air line will also cooperate in seating the valve when it is gravitated into the path of the air fiow'adjacent'the seat. Releasing of the automatic control '7 when this gravity 'valve is'seated is sufiicient jar for the friction of the frictionally engaging means for the lever tobeovercom'e and biased to unlatching position 'as the main valve of the nozzle is snapped shut. Hence the nozzle is automatically closed from a frictionally held open positionwhether'it-be dropped;bumped, or'tilted to adi tferent position.

1am awarethat'there may be various changes in details ofconstructionwithout departing from the spirit of my invention, and, therefore,-I claim my invention broadly as indicatedby the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention,what I claim as new and useful and desire to secure 'by 'United "States Letters Patent, is:

'1. An automatic dispensing nozzle -having avalve con- 4 trolled liquid dispensing passage, means for biasing the valve to closed position, a lever for opening the valve connected to a diaphragm interposed between a chamber in which a vacuum is created by the flow of the liquid being dispensed and an air chamber, an air conduit extending from the vacuum chamber to an air inlet adjacent the discharge end of the nozzle, and a gravity operated valve mounted in the air conduit adapted to be seated on a valve seat therefor for closing the air conduit when the nozzle is tilted to any position with its discharge end at a higher elevation than the opposite end and unseated for opening said air conduit when the nozzle is tilted to any position with its discharge end at a lower elevation than the opposite end.

2. The automatic dispensing nozzle of claim 1 having means for frictionally engaging the lever for holding it to open position.

3. The automatic dispensing nozzle of claim 2 having means for biasing the frictionally engaging means out of engagement with the lever.

4. An automatic dispensing nozzle having a valve controlled liquid dispensing passage, spring means 'for biasing the valve to -.closed*positi0n, a lever for opening the'valve connected to a diaphragm interposed between a chamber in which a vacuum is created by the flow of the liquid being dispensed and an air chamber, an air conduit extending :from the vacuum chamber to an air inlet adjacentthe discharge end of the nozzle, and a gravity operated valve mounted in the air'conduit to bemovable on and o'if a seat therefor lengthwise of the nozzle for closing'the air conduit when the nozzle is tilted 'to any position with its discharge end-at ahigher elevationthan the opposite end, and for opening the air conduit when the nozz'le is tilted-to any position with its discharge end at a lower elevation than the opposite end.

S. The automatic dispensing nozzle of claim 4 having means for frictionallyengag'ing the lever for holding it to open'position.

6."The automatic dispensing nozzle of claim Shaving means for-biasing the frictionally engaging means out of engagement with the lever.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 'Huisman Dec. 1, 1953 

